This application claims priority to an application entitled xe2x80x9cMethod of Enhancing Key Functions in Mobile Telecommunication Terminalxe2x80x9d filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Dec. 31, 1999 and assigned Serial No. 99-68271, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of enhancing key functions in a mobile telecommunication terminal, and in particular, to a method of enhancing functions of a key for diverse purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile telecommunication terminal is a wireless device, through which a user can telecommunicate via voice and data while moving from location to location. Though being able to satisfy voice telecommunications utilizing only numeric keys, such a mobile telecommunication terminal has a problem in data telecommunications in that a great number of numeric keys need to be inputted. Because of the inherent limitation in size of the terminal that is required to satisfy the portability feature of the mobile telecommunication terminal, the number of keys is also limited. Increasing the number of keys necessitates magnification of the size of the mobile telecommunication terminal. On the other hand, reducing the size of the keys also poses a problem in that the user can hardly push the keys.
Under the present circumstances, key inputs are now conducted in the manner of selecting diverse modes such as a Korean language input mode, English language input modes in capital letters and in small letters, a diverse symbols input mode, etc. Setting any one of the above modes enables the user to express desired data. However, this method also has a drawback of requiring a great number of key inputs. Especially when access to Internet web sites through a mobile telecommunication terminal is desired, diverse kinds of keys need to be inputted. In that case, it may become mandatory to shift key input modes from English language to Korean language and vice versa. Instead of providing additional keys for symbols, diverse symbols are generally displayed on a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel so that the user can input each symbol by pressing the keys in a particular input order. Unfortunately, this results in an increase of the number of key inputs. Thus, when moving through numerous sites on the Internet, in which a channel must be in continuous use, key input times increase, thereby incurring expensive telecommunication fees.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method of easily operating inputs of Korean language, English language, symbols or various modes by diversifying key functions with additional keys having particular purposes.
A method of enhancing key functions in a mobile telecommunication terminal including keys having special functions and a table for key input in a key input section corresponding to the keys having special functions comprises the steps of: confirming the kind of key having a special function, if inputted; waiting for a key input in the key input section if the key having a special function performs a separate function corresponding to the key in the key input section; and performing a table function corresponding to the key in the key input section, if inputted.
If the inputted key having a special function demands a shift of letters in the English language modes, the method further comprises the steps of: displaying a demand for shifting the letters on a display section; performing a key function in accordance with the shift of letters; detecting whether or not the input of the key having a special function demands a shift of the language in a key input mode; and shifting the currently set language mode to a next settable language mode, if the detection finds an input of a key demanding a shift of the language mode.
If the demand of an input of the key having a special function pertains to a symbol used on the Internet, the method further comprises the steps of: displaying a selection of the corresponding mode; and displaying the symbol corresponding to the key, if a key corresponding to the key input section is inputted in the selected mode.